view believes that patriarchy is determined biologically. Since men and women are different, the social duties and roles attributed for women are also
different. This is in line with what Thong says 2009:52 that men‟s and
women‟s roles in a patriarchal society are indeed different. Men usually gets masculine, or dominat roles, while women gets feminine, or subordinate ones.
Patriarchal system also believes in the idea of motherhood which limits women‟s mobility and also obligates them with the burden of the duties to
rear and nurture children Ray, 2006:2. In other words, women have no other choice but devoting themselves to their families so that they have no chance to
develop theirselves and gain position in public life. While the private sphere is reserved for women as housewives and mothers, on the contrary, political
sphere is meant for men.
a. Women’s Lives in A Patriarchal Society in Afghanistan
Patriarchal system in a country may be different from others, including in Afghanistan, because of the differences in caste, class, religion, ethnicity,
religion and social practices Ray, 2006:1. The strong influences of religion and politics situation have created the strong patriarchal system in
Afghanistan. The country is even pronounced as the most dangerous place for women Khan, 2012:2.
Under the ocupation of Soviet, women‟s status in Afghanistan was undermined and it become worse under the Taliban regime.
Khan, 2012:1. According to Oxfam in Khan, 2012:1, Taliban forbade women to work outside their houses, foced them to wear the burqa, apparel
which covers al most all part of women‟s bodies, baned them to travel alone:
they should be accompanied by a male relative, and also baned them to go to schools. There are 95 of women who were illaterate and 54 of girls got
married in young age. According to a report of UNAMA and UNHCHR 2009:1, violence is
another danger that is faced by women in Afghanistan. In the country, violence is widespread and inescapable. The violence that damages the lives
of Afghan women and girls has become a common thing in Afghan customs, culture, practices and attitudes. The women of Afghanistan does not have
much freedom and chances to struggle against the traditions and norms that place them in subordinate posititoon.
Besides violence and other unequal treatment, patriarchy in Afghanistan also manifests its way in polygamy. It is legal in Afghanistan and its
instruction and guidance are arranged in the specific provisions of the Civil Code of Afghanistan Women and Children Legal Research Foundation,
2006:1. Saboory 2005:20 explains that it is legal for an Afghan man to marry one to four wives at the same time in the condition that the husband can
treat his wives fairly. However, in reality, polygamy only gives women disadvantages because the conditions which have set are done by the husband.
On the name of polygamy law, men exploit women. They treat their wives unequally, make them as sexual objects, and they use their tradition to
cover the discrimination they do to the women and make the situation legal. The unfair treatment of husbands to their wives brings many problems in
family such as home detention, abuse, child inheritance problem, and
prohibition of living in the husbands‟ houses. Those problems can trigger women to commit suicide Saboory, 2005:20.
3. Gender Discrimination
Gender discrimination is a term to describe an unequal treatment which is based on gender. Many people misunderstand the concept of gender and they
often relate it to sex. Gender and sex, though often seen related, are actually not synonymous or substitutes for each other. According to Lorber
1996:144, sex is the state of being females and males; meanwhile, gender refers to women and men. Each gender has its own identity and roles which
are called as femininity and masculinity. Beauvoir in Selden, 1993:210 diferentiates sex and gender and notices
that there is a relation between natural and social functions. According to her, „being female‟ and „being a woman‟ are two very different kinds of being
because the term „female‟ refers to the natural facts, while the term „woman‟ refers to something that hs been constructed by the society. She clarifies that
“one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman”. This means that gender is a result of social construction. This recognition of gender is also proposed by
other scholar such as Virginia Woolf in Shelden, 1993:207, who states that gender identity is constructed by the society and it can be fought and and
changed. Another schollar, Butler 1999:6, also clarifies the difference between
sex and gender. According to her, sex is a natural given, while gender is an the
